TWF 286: Does The Earlene Hooper Saga Continue With Write-In Campaign?

Freeporters,

I hope you're all having a fantastic Thursday, and that you're keeping those suffering from Hurricane Michael in your minds as that storm rolls through the south, reminding us all of how Hurricane Sandy hit us.

Earlene Hooper is a name synonymous with "Freeport Legends," if for no other reason that she has been involved with myriad contentious issues with Village residents.  I've already chronicled this history multiple times (I encourage you to give it a read), but the two greatest conflicts she had with Freeporters in general remain, A; her adamant refusal to allow the Freeport Armory to be transferred to the Village Of Freeport, and, B; her extraordinarily surprising attempt, in collaboration with then-Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick, to convince Freeport to house a garbage incinerator.

I know I recycle this image a lot, but they made a whole frikkin' video about this thing.

I've spoken before, both on this very blog and even in-person at an event hosted by Adelphi University (I had the true honor of sharing a stage with Anthony J Miller, of the Freeport School District Board of Education!  Squeee!) about how New York State hasn't come close to escaping the gerrymandering that so many states embrace to limit voter turnout.  Freeport is, for those who don't know, split across multiple districts (on many levels of government...), meaning our full voice doesn't get to vote for any one leader, but rather many chunks of our populace are lumped in with those from many other communities also sometimes split into parts, all to create safety for incumbent politicians.  That's what makes Taylor Raynor's victory against Mrs. Hooper so impressive; while Freeporters might have been natural allies, she had to contend with many other small constituencies to win.

Is Hooper Running A Write-In Campaign?

Today I want to let everyone know that Earlene Hooper's time in politics is not necessarily over, for better or worse, because after her defeat in the democratic Primary for New York State Legislative District 18 at the hands of Taylor Raynor, rumors (from who I will happily concede is a credible source) are flying on Facebook trying to claim that she is planning on running a write-in campaign.  However, I'm going to assess what truth I can find in this concern.

First of all, Google is my friend; I searched for news articles having to do with Hooper running a write-in campaign and...Came up empty.  I next searched for any sort of website tied to Hooper running a re-election campaign.  I...Also came up empty!  I searched Facebook and Twitter, the top-two word-of-mouth machines necessary for such a campaign for active accounts and...Still, nothing.  Ballotpedia didn't chart anything about a write-in, either.  The only thing I found still up-and-running was her official NYS Assembly page, and that didn't look updated at all.

Now, maybe there is information that I'm yet to be aware of; or, maybe there was an effort, since-abandoned.  After all, I am not on any e-mail list Hooper may have accumulated over the years, and since I cannot find any active accounts (I mean, not even an official Twitter account? Or am I missing it?) for her, I can't be sure if I'm simply blocked or otherwise excluded from viewing it.

The Conclusion...

Let's be honest:  Write-in campaigns are long shots, anyway, often undertaken for farcical reasonsand made complicated by spelling errors and general electioneering trickery.  Lisa Murkowski, a U.S. Senator representing Alaska, is the most famous example of one working.  However, it took a massive political effort to effectively communicate with and mobilize volunteers to recruit voters who would be prepared to successfully cast a write-in vote.

The complete absence of any visible, easily-accessible social media presence, as well as a thorough lack of a serious campaign website for social media efforts to guide volunteers and donations towards, indicates that even if Mrs. Hooper were to decide at the last minute to try for a write-in campaign, she simply won't have the resources in place to succeed.

With that said, as always, The Weekly Freeporter as a publication does not endorse candidates, and we urge you to vote for who you think will best support your community.  Thanks for reading!


Jesse Pohlman is a long-time Freeport resident who sometimes just likes to share what he's thinking about it.  He's also a science-fiction and fantasy writer you can check out on Amazon!

TWF 277: Village Mayoral and Board Elections on 3/21/2017 - Tomorrow!

Greetings, Freeport!

As you are no doubt aware, an election is brewing in Freeport, tomorrow, and boy is it a doozy!  Here's your usual The Weekly Freeporter does not endorse candidates within Freeport, and generally ever reminder.  I might make recommendations on other platforms or for outside-of-the-Village, but I don't do politics in Freeport.  My past reporting on both the Hardwick and Kennedy administrations may speak for themselves.

With that said, let's go in order of Rows:  Kennedy is in Row C, so he'll be last, and I believe Mr.  Hardwick has Row B, so we're gonna start with the only one on the list who hasn't been Mayor already, Stephen Drummond!

It's only fair I note that I'm not going to go into depth about the candidates for Trustee.  In many cases, either you know them (as with Mrs.  Pinyero, Mr.  Grossman, and Mr.  Ellerbe), or you don't (as with Mr.  Vargas and others).  While we've certainly seen times when "team" members don't vote with the Mayor they came to office with, in general they are likely to follow most of the same political lines as the mayor they're following.

Also, let's be real:  We all know there's a lot of vitriol in some of these candidacies.

Village of Freeport Mayoral Candidates, 3/21/2017

Row A:  Stephen Drummond.

Mr.  Drummond is certainly the wild-card in this race.  A former U.S. Marine who served as the Village Judge for Andrew Hardwick if I remember correctly, Drummond has clearly decided to strike out on his own.  He made an awesome campaign video that's worth checking out, but as far as policy I see, for starters, a lot of the "law and order" campaign one might expect from a former judge.

He has a plan to improve Freeport you can read at your leisure.  As a Recreation Center person, I like the sound of his plan to revitalize and improve the Recreation Center...But at the same time, if one of Freeport's major woes has been it's pocket book, he'd have to get a helluvalotta funding to do it.  Yet it appears controversy stirs over the number of religious figures he's asked to join him, which came up as far back as when Annette Dennis ran for Trustee.  After all, the argument went then as now - If you don't pay taxes, how do you get control over taxpayer money?

If this were a two-candidate race, I'd say Mr.  Drummond's odds could be very strong.  As it stands, I can't back that viewpoint because there's so much baggage here that it's just hard to imagine people avoiding polarization.

Row B:  Andrew Hardwick

Former Mayor Hardwick was defeated by one of his "Team Hardwick" deputies, Robert Kennedy, in the last Mayoral elections.  Has it been so long, Andrew?  While I always appreciated how direct he was with me during his tenure, he has since gone on to run for offices across Long Island, and I always expressed concern that he did not have a grasp on how public relations worked.

He is nigh-legendary for threatening to cancel the Freeport Nautical Mile Festival and for the "Garbage To Gold" scandal, and what I would have hoped to have heard from Mr.  Hardwick - and seen, through his supporters' actions and outreach - would have been a maturity in his approach.  He was, fairly or not, seen as combative and unwilling to listen; as it stands, there's been far too little outreach for me to understand if this is a serious bid to return to power, or a spiteful grasp at fame.

The hunter who chases two rabbits at the same time often loses sight of them both; I find myself asking what Andrew Hardwick wants to do.  I think his voters will, as well, because my experience in covering small-scale elections tells me to expect him to finish last or close to it.

Row C:  Robert Kennedy

Mayor Kennedy made a move the other day, one that impressed one decades-long resident in both its timing and its function:  That huge plot of land on Sunrise Highway next to the ancient but beautiful bank has been sold, or is being sold, or...Progress, am I right?  When Stop-And-Shop folded, Target came in.  The Nautical Mile Festival works about as well as it ever could; it's still far too reduced in relation to its legacy, but that's what people seem to want.

Is Mr.  Kennedy's tenure perfect?  I'd love to see him build a rock-climbing wall at the Rec, among other massive improvements in funding it would benefit from.  (I'd go into detail, but it'd be a conflict of interest.)  But it's certainly fair to say he is favored, mathematically, to win this race.  He faces divided opposition and presides over a time when factors far beyond him have led Freeport to feel like there's a time of recovery, while Mayor Hardwick's first term started with a national economic crisis and ended with a massive storm.

Perhaps fate was a bit unfair to Mr.  Hardwick, in retrospect, but one has to help oneself and Mr.  Kennedy sure took advantage of his opportunities.  I expect that - regardless of what you think about him or his opponents - Mr.  Kennedy will remain in the Mayor's office.

On Predictions...

Fact is, these predictions of mine:  A Kennedy 1st, Drummond 2nd, Hardwick 3rd outcome, are the predictions of an amateur who only hears what he hears and listens to what he listens to.  I have no horse in this race (I'm no longer in Freeport!), and I am simply reporting this because lately TWF has had a bit of a role to play in bringing up important events - and, I still have family and friends in the Port, and I'm not too far away or unwilling to help the community.

I could be wrong.  I very well might be!  In fact, this article will, as a matter of the Uncertainty Principle, shift the way the world turns.  If my article somehow helps drive voter turnout up, then that's a good thing.

Good luck to all candidates, but voters?  This is on you.  It always is.

TWF 262: Earlene Hooper - Traffic Cameras and a Freeport Obsession

Greetings,

Today is going to be one of those long, not-at-all Nautical Mile Festival-related posts.  I can't promise you fun, unless your sense of "fun" is in learning about the political machinations, obsessions, and downright insanities of a sitting member of New York State's government, in particular one who sits representing Freeport.

I am talking about Earlene Hooper, Democratic representative from the 18th district who, according to her official Biography, not only attended my Alma Mater of Adelphi University but who also serves as Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly of New York.  Not according to her biography, she might either be Freeport's number-one arch enemy or, depending on how you read her, simply trying to do the right thing for her constituents whether they like it or not.

Her official picture, as per her official biography!

This article will investigate past encounters between her and Freeport, but it is not by any stretch a rabidly anti-Hooper "hit piece."  I will be doing research-as-I-write, meaning my opinion isn't even formed as I type this.  For older issues which I wrote about, I will be referring mostly to this publication's previous articles; the relevant research and sources for my conclusions can be found, there.  I'm saying this in advance of any arguments that I am simply making things up; I am not, since every bill or appearance is backed up by facts, all of which are derived from Hooper's own, raw deeds.

First of all, I will examine the current hot-button issue (installing red-light and other traffic cameras in Freeport); next, I will talk about how this makes her look with respect to her history in dealing with Freeport.

I will be forthcoming, however:  I do not anticipate a warm outcome.

NY Bill A05674:  Red Light Cameras In Freeport

First and foremost:  I would like to send you a direct link to the New York State Assembly's website pertaining to Bill A08675, proposed by Earlene Hooper on 3/3/2015.  This bill is politely titled, and I quote directly from the text, here:  

"An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the public officers law, in relation to owner liability for failure of operator to comply with traffic control indications; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof"

Okay, so what the hell does that mean?  Well, I'm not going to simply cut-and-paste the entire bill, here.  The stated purpose uses clearly fear-mongering language when it talks about reducing deaths.  Sure, any law might reduce deaths, but any action or inaction might cause them, too.  So let's talk about what the bill will actually do...

"The bill authorizes the villages of Freeport and Hempstead to adopt a
local law or ordinance to establish a demonstration program imposing
monetary liability on vehicle owners for an operator's failure to
comply with traffic-control signals at up to fifteen intersections at
anyone time within and under the jurisdiction of the Villages of
Freeport and Hempstead. Such demonstration program would be for a
period of five years."

Okay.  The way this particular paragraph is written,  it gives Freeport and Hempstead the right to come up with its own laws on an issue!  Sounds good!  I mean, y'know, within the 15-intersection limit.  And what is a "demonstration program imposing monetary liability on vehicle owners?"  Does that mean we're hiring more police?!  SWEET!  For reasons I have been dying to get into, I'm super-proud of our police department right now.  More cops here would actually not be a bad thing (unlike, say, in just about any state in the South).

But...No.  The third paragraph spells out what Hooper is really suggesting, and it gets scary, fast.

"...that photographs produced by such violation-monitoring systems do not       include images identifying the driver, passengers or contents of a vehicle, and are exempt from FOIL recorded images."

Now, it's clear what we're talking about:  We're talking about "allowing" Freeport to come up with a program to place fifteen red light cameras at various intersections in town.  Okay.  Okay!  And maybe, MAYBE this "exempt from FOIL recorded images" line is for the protection of a motorist, so that a third party cannot get hold of the images.  As opposed to, say, the accused demanding to see the images supposedly proving they've run a red light.  That's an incredibly vague way to write a bill, and as we'll see I believe there's a certain deliberate nature behind Hooper's way of writing this and other bills.  I digress.

Let us deliberately and consciously ignore the questions, "how much will each fine be?" and "what are my rights to defend against an accusation?"  I mean, it's not like traffic violation cameras in Nassau County have ever gone completely and horribly wrong, right?

Let's focus on where the money collected from us well-behaved Freeport taxpayers will be going, shall we?

"The bill requires that all fines and penalties collected under the
demonstration program shall be deposited into a separate designated
account and shall not be commingled with any other monies in custody
of the village treasurer. Of the monies collected through the program,
15 percent shall be for expenses incurred in connection with the
program; 15 percent for village real property tax relief; and 70
percent for village youth and senior services."

Suddenly, something starts to sound very screwed up to those of us who have been following Earlene Hooper's career regarding the "youth."  Let's set aside that 70% of revenue:  15% of the revenue goes to whoever might be administering the program; say, a private company which may be selective in who it actually sends tickets to, perhaps based on the "whitelist" principles of security.  I mean, it's not as if the constitutionality of red light cameras are being hotly debated right now, right?  Oh, and that link will also take you to proof that, in general, these cameras aren't safety-enhancing.  I digress, again.  I also seemingly crave repetition.

Another 15% of the revenue for these cameras which New York State will so generously allow us to build will go to Freeport!  Hurray!  We get 15% of every ticket!  But wait:  As John Oliver points out, municipal violations are often a way of shifting the tax burden from one group of people to another (Yes, this video is long):

So Freeport gets 15% of each ticket sent out, but assuming it's a Freeporter getting ticketed the recipient of a questionably-legal ticket still loses 100%.  We already have issues with attracting business to the Nautical Mile (See:  Debatably-useful One-Way Streets and poorly implemented parking meters.), a part of town which would serve as a cash-hungry person's delicious appetizer.  The main course, however, would be Atlantic, Merrick, and Sunrise Highway, the three east-to-west traffic arteries in town.  Even when we get an outsider with our tickets, we're still only getting 15% of the money.  Will that money go to compensate business owners who lose out because people avoid Freeport in favor of other towns - or areas of our town, at least - without the cameras?  I don't believe that's the case with the parking meters currently beating up on Mile businesses, but I could be wrong!

So, now we're back to that 70% Hooper wants to go to "Village youth and senior services."  On the surface of this, who could complain!  Silly me, I've been looking at this wrong:  We're getting 85% of the still-not-quite-ethical cash!  But, wait...Remember how I said that studying Hooper's voting history regarding Freeport raises a lot of questions about this?

Earlene Hooper's Mad Freeport Obsession

Honestly, I've written so many articles questioning Earlene Hooper's train-of-thought regarding Freeport that it borders on pummeling a horse skeleton with a two-by-four.  Not only is it not getting up to walk around, but it's a defenseless goddamn horse in the first place!  Maybe that's the nature of blogging?

I'm digressing, again.

Let's begin with when I first met Earlene Hooper, back on June 11, 2010, when she appeared with ex-Mayor Andrew Hardwick in an obscure film about building an incinerator in Freeport to turn "Garbage Into Gold."  About 24 hours after Hardwick swore he wasn't going through with it, Hooper's endorsement letter came to light, which I realize sounds like a bad Simpsons plot-line, but I assure new readers was a real thing.

In that article, as well as in this one written in January 2012 about a lawsuit, I refer to a bill colloquially called the "Hooper Bill," one which was designed with the intent to allow a Mayor to circumvent civil service rules in order to hand-select a new police chief.  At least, with many years of distance between then and now, that's what the debate amounted to.  It's a debate which Hooper lost.

Speaking of debates, there is the still-ongoing debate over what to do with the Freeport Armory.  I recently did an entire review of the issue, so I'll summarize the full article:  Earlene Hooper has been attempting to get New York State to transfer a rather strategic (especially Post-Sandy) property to the Village of Freeport for one dollar.  Each of these transfers has, to my eye, been rather dubiously constructed:  The language involved in specifying the Armory's use is incredibly vague, and most recently (and notably!) mandated that the property be ceded primarily to the Cedermore Corporation. That means, ugh, I have to answer the question, "Who is the Cedermore Corporation, and what do they have to do with this?"

They put on events like the Freeport Farmers Markets you see at the Recreation Center, which is a cool thing!  Guidestar, a charity-rating organization, notes that they're missing some feedback, but it seems like feedback that only a larger, multi-state non-profit might require.  A couple of Google searches and other inquiries do not reveal any obvious or even implied connections between the Hooper and Cedermore, other than that she specifically targeted them as a recipient for the Armory.

The Conclusion

So, what is it really that's going on with this bill?  Rumors are flying that Cedermore will benefit greatly from any red light camera revenue going to "youth programs," but there's no factual backing to this claim:  Freeport is setting up this fund, and unless there is something concealed in the language of the bill that I failed to read, there is no pre-selected recipient for these hypothetical funds.  The 70% of ticket revenue could just as easily be fed into an opposing program; if Freeport wanted to spite Hooper, it could figure out which company Hooper wanted to donate to and give it to that company's arch-rival!

Does this mean Hooper is simply being a philanthropist, planning to use Freeporters (and Hempsteaders) and those who drive through Freeport (and Hempstead) who (possibly) violate traffic laws as unwilling donors?  Perhaps.  I'm certainly not opposed to paying taxes for the privilege of a thing called "government," and I'm even willing to pitch in for some perks and benefits.  However, I absolutely abhor the intellectual dishonesty it requires to say, "Well, we aren't gonna raise taxes, but we're gonna fine people for doing something supposedly unsafe, even if that makes it unsafe-er."

Does this mean Hooper has a vendetta against Freeport?  Well, Freeport has a history of being loud - and, of that, I'm proud!  I know I'm not alone in roundly criticizing her, and I know I'm probably her gentlest critic.  Freeport has mustered some significant resistance to her re-election runs, at times!  So, to that, I can only say, "perhaps she does."  It certainly seems that she does not "get" Freeport.  It could be argued she simply doesn't care what we think, that we are no more or less important to her than any other easily-ignored group of opponents.

Another claim I've heard is that Hooper is going to get "kickbacks" from the company that operates the proposed red light cameras.  This certainly wouldn't be the first time kickbacks occur in our government's history!  I can't find any proof that Hooper will get one red cent from this; then again, politicians often leave politics and find themselves "hard work" like a little pass-time called "lobbying."  As a lobbyist, Hooper could well end up working for the company that lands the red light camera contract, or Cedermore, or both!  Or, y'know, neither.

Ultimately, my conclusion on approaching five years of dealing with Hooper is this:  She most certainly does not seem to have our best interests in mind, at least the interests of those who speak against her.  She might truly be invested in social welfare, but I cannot bring myself to trust anyone who sincerely thought, based on no science whatsoever, that an incinerator in Freeport was a good idea.  I think she should do what I would advise Andrew Hardwick or any other defeated-and-maligned political official to do:  Go on vacation, spend at least a year in the woods and find out who you really are; figure out what you should have done all those times you messed up; then, if you want to run again, tell us specifically how we will hold you accountable for it and maybe I'll consider it.

At least Hardwick got step one right, even if he's currently getting a cushy ride from Hempstead's tax base thanks to their school board!  Alas, I do not live in Hempstead (though I did, for some time, and I truly sympathize with them), so I will end this tale here.

Jesse Pohlman is a freelance writer from Freeport, New York.  His website is www.jessepohlman.com, where you can check out other articles he's written.  He also publishes science fiction novels at Amazon!

TWF 254: Hooper's Armory Bill lands on Cuomo's desk; give it to Freeport, instead!

Editorial Update:  The latest incarnation of the Hooper bill has been vetoed by Governor Cuomo!

Greetings, all,

Many of you are aware of the long-suffering fight between NYS District 18 assemblywoman Earlene Hooper and, well, pretty much every force in the village, including Mayor Kennedy, about the Freeport Armory.  The Armory, for those who don't know, is a state-owned property that was once an important defense structure, but now serves as little more than a political football that might, after nearly five years, finally get kicked by its proverbial Charlie Brown.

Recently, Hooper's latest bill to transfer the armory, A08821A, out of New York State's hands actually made it to Governor Andrew Cuomo's desk to either sign or veto.

Let's cover a little history.

Image courtesy of Legion Post 342's Blogspot.

The History of The War For The Armory

Allow me to take you back to a magical time called "2010."  While Freeport was grappling with the idea that its new mayor, Andrew Hardwick, might contract with a Chinese company to build a 'green' incinerator and burn NYC's garbage to turn it into "gold," the Weekly Freeporter was born to get to the bottom of it.  It turns out that Hooper and Hardwick had starred in a promotional video for a Freeport incinerator.  Don't believe me?  Here's a little proof:

Just a still-shot.  The original clip appears to be have been thrown down the memory hole,

This isn't about Andrew Hardwick, in spite of rumors he might run for another Freeport office.  This is about the Armory and Earlene Hooper's repeated attempts to divest New York State's interest in it.

On the surface, NYS getting rid of it is a great idea.  When Hooper first put bill A11379 into the New York State Assembly in the 2009-2010 legislative session, the goal was to transfer ownership to the Village of Freeport, itself.  There were conditions attached, but the idea was to get the building into Freeport's pack of assets.  At the time, residents were concerned about text that mandated the Armory be used for "educational" purposes.

Writing about it back in 2010, I mused along with many residents that the Armory could be used by the Department of Public Works.  We were concerned about Hooper's "Police Bill" and Hardwick possibly using the Armory to facilitate his incinerator plans.  Make no mistake:  The incinerator scare turned out to be 85% hysteria.  It may have been spawned by 100% bad public-relations, but it never made it beyond the "hey, this is a good idea" stage because, well, it wasn't a good idea.

I'm trying to provide a context for why Freeport has been resistant to accepting Hooper's transfer of the Armory.  Had we known what we know now - that a major storm would devastate our town in October 2012 - we may have felt differently.  Now, knowing that the entire south shore of our town could end up underwater, knowing that DPW itself is based right by the water, it makes sense to have a center-of-operations near our town's northern borders.  In fact, during Sandy's aftermath, The Weekly Freeporter reported that the Federal government was using the Armory as an ad-hoc gas station to alleviate fuel droughts!  What a great idea!  Right?

That is why Earlene Hooper's current bill, A08821A, has bothered Freeport so greatly:  Instead of transferring the armory to the Village, it will transfer it to the Cedermore Corporation.

Governor Cuomo:  Veto.

I'm not here to join into the arguments of whether Hooper's proposed "focused learning facilities" for "at-risk youth" in Freeport and Roosevelt is a good or bad thing.  It probably is a good idea to have services like that, since - y'know - helping kids is supposed to be a good thing.  If this were a project Hooper had organized and deployed in one of the many abandoned buildings Freeport still has, I'd be completely in favor of it!

Unfortunately, I have to urge Freeport as a whole - and Governor Andrew Cuomo as an individual - to reject this plan.

In 2011 and 2012, two major storms (Irene in 2011; I know, she's forgettable compared to Sandy) crushed our town.  In each case, as painful as this is to say, we got lucky.  We haven't had a Category 5 Hurricane hit us.  Sandy wasn't even Category 4.  Imagine if she had been?

Freeport needs this Armory to house its Department of Public Works, our first line of defense against natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy.  If you're from Roosevelt, Baldwin, Hempstead, Merrick, Bellmore or wherever, and if you're wondering why Freeport needs this asset, it's because we're on an island in the middle of the ocean.  If there's a major flood, we need a place that's not on the shore but close to it so that we have a staging area.

Remember using the Recreation Center as an ad-hoc shelter, since parts of that flooded?  I bet the Armory would be drier.

Remember how tough it was to get supplies into south Freeport?  I bet the Armory would let us get them there, faster.

Remember how, in spite of Freeport's heroic EMS workers' efforts, the information networks people need to even access that system were crippled?  The Armory could serve as a new, standing, permanent solution to where to get information.

Do the right thing:  Veto this bill.

Earlene Hooper:  Next time you write this perennial bill, give it to the Village of Freeport for the purposes of the DPW, and I'll happily let you kick this football.  Why, yes.  I suppose that makes me and the rest of Freeport's residents your Lucy.  Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!

TWF 230: Welcome to Payport! Or; RVC Light.

Howdy Payporters!

What, our town is called Freeport?  Coulda fooled me!

I know; it's hard to tell what it is.

A few days ago a little internet controversy came to my attention as it was asserted that the Village had installed Rockville Center-style "Munimeters" in its municipal parking lots.  This was sort of a surprise to me, seeing as I live two blocks from one, so I decided to stop by after work.  Sure enough, I was greeted with sights like the above, and the below.

Now, I've checked at all four lots down on the Nautical Mile and can confirm they exist, there; I haven't checked up north due two working two jobs and all, while also having the Human weaknesses of needing to eat and sleep.  There are also no meters (yet) on the streets in that neighborhood.  Wow.  Where do I begin?  Normally, it'd be with some words from Mayor Kennedy, but unlike former Mayor Hardwick he didn't respond to my message.  (Is this a good thing?  Judging from the past could be.)  Instead, let's jump into the debate!


To Tax, or to tax differently.

Let's ignore, for a moment, Freeport's history as a rum-running capital, and/or it's history as a free port (which, according to The Economist, is a booming business!), and/or the fact that these areas were just a year ago devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  And, it's no secret that facilities like Braccos were charging upwards of $20/night for parking, but that's parking on-site in a heavily monitored lot.  Let's look at this in a purely economic standpoint:  Does this make sense?

Well, these parking lots were built with Taxpayer money.  Sea Breeze especially is a recently-constructed facility.  Therefore, Freeporters have paid to have them developed.  We'll touch more into the fairness of this later, but does it make sense - economically - to recuperate losses?  Well...No.  Not in my view.  Here's why!

One of the huge advantages Freeport had going into the post-Sandy recovery was that The Mile's nearest major competitor, in terms of night-life and restaurants, is Rockville Center.  Let me tell you a little secret:  I hate me some RVC.  I despise it.  I hate going there because of one simple reason:  I can never find parking, and I pay through my bum for what little I can find.  I don't just dislike the town, but I actually actively avoid going there.  When I have a choice between doctors' appointments at an RVC or a Merrick one, I go with Merrick 100% of the time.  If I had to go to Bellmore or even Wantagh, I'd be in for that.  Why?  Parking, pure and simple.  I know many, many others who feel the same way.

Now, The Mile is not exactly a year-round place.  Many establishments aren't even open year-round, but those which are?  They became home.  Jeremy's Ale House in particular, but also places like Bamboo (which I recently had the pleasure of dining at!) and, during its pre-Wet days, a place once called Splash as well as Hurricane Charlie's.  These were my spots, and I loved going there.  Why?  At least in the winter, parking was virtually automatic!  Show up, park, eat, leave!  Why is this complicated?

No longer.

If you don't think this will effect where people dine, or how much they spend, think again.  It's $7 for a 14 hour parking slip.  That's not a terrible price, but it is the price of a drink and/or an appetizer.  That's $7 I had to buy myself an order of boneless wings at Jeremy's.  Well, even if I only spend half of that, that's an order of boneless wings I'm no longer buying.  That's money the Village gets...But Jeremy's doesn't!  Now, isn't that lame?  Speaking of money Jeremy's doesn't get, consider the employees of the place!  Your average eight hour shift is $4 in parking money every day, meaning $20/week.  That doesn't sound like much, but think about it this way:  Would you be cool paying an extra $20/week on parking, no matter how much you earn?  Or, as an employer, would you be happy to pay all of your employees an extra $20 for the privilege of paying the Village to come in and enable commerce?

The main argument I've heard in favor of these Munimeters (Punymeters, really; these guys are small!) is that they will help make sure we don't get a tax increase in the immediate future.  That's really the idea, right?  Increase revenue without raising taxes on home-owners?  But, at least for the businesses, employees, and visitors to these businesses?  Isn't the process I explained above the textbook definition of a tax, at least in terms of the "chilling" effect on commerce that taxes cause?

Here's the bottom line:  This is a tax on Freeporters.  It's not a direct tax levy, performed by - say - raising the commercial rate.  It's instead placed upon the employees and patrons.  Sometimes that "broadens" the tax base by taxing non-residents indirectly, but it's certainly a mistake.  If the commercial aspects don't convince you this was a mistake, let's present another...


These Munimeters may cost lives.

No joke.

Because we needed a fun picture, courtesy of Superheroden.

As someone who lives only a few blocks away, I cannot tell you how many times I have had friends (not recently, but during my college days.  I had those - we were all young, once) call me up and offer a more vulgar variant of, "Hey, Jesse, I got pretty messed up last night.  I took a cab home, then left my car at the Mile, can you pick me up and drop me off at it?"  It was always in the back of peoples' minds:  Leave your car because it costs you nothing.  Now, it costs you a parking ticket!  Impaired people may weigh the consequences quite differently; the results may be disastrous.

I know that sounds like a reach, but DWI is one of the leading killers in this country.  Most accidents happen within a few miles of one's house.  I'd post links, but I don't feel like google-searching.  Why not?  Because I am a busy person, and I choose to be lazy with things that are well-established facts both statistically and empirically.  Just like drunk people say, "Ehhh, it's only one time, and I'm not that drunk."

Now, on to what I like to offer - some kind of reasonable solution to a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place!

How to fix the Munimeter problem.

So, with all of these in mind, let's boil our situation down to a simple question:  How do we square the desire to increase income with the prospect of increasing costs on Freeport residents and businesses?  After all, it's not like we Freeporters haven't already paid for our parking spots by paying the tax dollars that built them, right?

Well, some of the costs to residents - besides direct financial loss - are fairly clear:  Increased competition for parking spots on streets will cost locals room they need for their guests or to park.  It's already bad, but now it's worse.  More travelers up and down the mile might stray onto their property and cause damage or leave litter behind.  The roads, driven more, will acquire more damage faster.  Hmm.  Seems like we're focused on the residents, now, but the same applies to businesses...Wait!  I got it!

The answer which jumps out immediately at me is simple, and ironically is stolen from Rockville Center's system and then improved upon!  We need a Resident/Employee permit.  Follow me, here:  RVC has plenty of spaces which are reserved for "Resident/Employee" permits.  These spaces cannot be "rented," but instead it falls upon people to find Munimeter-capable spots.  During business hours, this leads to massive areas of empty concrete and a few crowded, overtaxed publicly-available spots.

Freeport needs to adopt a system wherein residents mail in their license plates along with a photocopy of their drivers' license and/or registration slips.  For security purposes, we could compromise and say that initial permit granting requires an in-person appearance at Village Hall.  These permits are renewed every year.  Employee verification requires an official letter of some sort from a business, and must again be renewed yearly.  Allow me to emphasize that this permit would be absolutely, 100% free to qualified candidates.  This will stress business owners out a little bit, will require some effort on behalf of the Village (surely costing no more than they will earn in new parking tickets) and is an inconvenience for residents; on the other hand, non-resident visitors will kick a little bit of extra cash up, reducing the need for tax-payers to up their direct contributions.  There, problem solved!

Or, y'know, we just scrap the Munimeters because all it sounds like they're doing is reducing the appeal that Freeport has to non-residents.



The Weekly Freeporter is produced by Jesse Pohlman.  Jesse is a writer from Freeport, NY.  If you have some time, check out his five-star rated novel, Physics Incarnate, available in both Kindle and Paperback formats!

Thank you for reading!


Editorial note:  I also happen to work at Randall Park over the summer; I've lost two car mirrors while parked on the street (no, the Village will not reimburse me), and I am now one of those being forced to pay in order to park and work.  Just thought I'd mention this somewhere for journalistic integrity; seeing as I also live in the area, and will likely see increased numbers of people parked on my road?  Neat, huh?

TWF 226: Jesse Pohlman's Guest Spot on The Strykezone!

Hey Freeporters!

I've been a busy beaver this year, but my lady and I recently got a chance to stop by an old Freeport High School Alumni's place.  CJ Stryker is a NYC mainstay, but few know of his ties to our community.  Okay, that's sort of a fib - he actually runs the FHS Alumni Facebook group!  However, CJ also founded Stryker Network Media, and he hosts a WebTV show called The Strykezone!

Having been Freeport alumni, it was a pleasant surprise when we met up at Adelphi University, from which we also became alumni!  So, I was even more surprised - and honored! - when he asked me to be a guest on his show.  I didn't know what to expect, so I won't spoil it for you -- OKAY!  He tries to get me to make comments about former mayor Andrew Hardwick, comments which I artfully keep my trap shut about.  He also asks about my writing.  Check it out!



The StrykeZone - Episode 19 - Guest Featuring - Jesse Pohlman from CJ Stryker on Vimeo.

I want to thank him again for having me on, because this was an awesome experience.  A real pleasure, even if we didn't agree on everything.


The Weekly Freeporter is produced by Jesse Pohlman.  Jesse is a freelance writer working out of Freeport, NY.  He writes books - Just check out his Amazon Author's Page.  Well, don't just check it out, buy something to support another Freeport artist!

Thank you for reading!

TWF 209: Freeport School Budget and Trustee Vote, May 21st, 2013!

Greetings, Freeport,

Allow me to post the 'ol Editorial Disclaimer:  Jesse Pohlman is a full-time employee of the Freeport Public Schools.

So, let's start at the start:  Tomorrow is "election day," wherein voters in the Freeport School District vote to adopt the budget, the library budget, and also vote for trustees on the school board.  You just need to stroll down to your local polling place before 9:00 PM tomorrow night.  Here's the breakdown step-by-step:


School Budget

You can find all the information you need, here:

http://www.freeportschools.org/Assets/1314_Budget/13budget_freeport_nl.pdf
Editorial Note:  Jesse Pohlman's part-time second job as Assistant Coach for the FHS Boys Swim Team is one of the 29.5 positions cut out of this budget.

The tax increase is within New York State's "tax cap" limits, and preserves most of the academic programs required by NYS.  And, yes, our finances have historically been pretty strong - until the great economic crash of 2008, we were cutting taxes and increasing programs.  At a budget meeting I attended this year, I recall the speaker notifying those in attendance that the school Administration has taken their raises for this year, a significant chunk of change, but that the primary driver of our fiscal doldrums is, yet again, New York State.  This isn't untrue, for three reasons - only two of which were pointed out in the meeting.  (Aside:  you may visit "See Through NY" to see what all public employees within the state make.)

First, NYS "restores" state aid on a regular basis, but this is aid that it chooses not to give us in the first place.  According to our representative, this region of the state educates 17% of its children, but receives 12% of the educational funding from the "pot" of tax revenue that the state takes.  Second, the cost of retirement plans have been shifted from the state to the districts; this was done without proper planning, so the districts have little help in paying for that.  This factor alone soaked up most of the actual tax increase the budget calls for.

Third, most important and least addressed, is the fact that Long Island's tax base has been broken by a series of natural disasters.  Any house south of Atlantic Avenue isn't worth what it was before Hurricane Sandy - period.  But property taxes depend on assessed values!  The answer I received to my question about tax assessments was simple:  If assessments are challenged, it was explained, then the tax cost will simply be shifted to others in the form of overall tax increases.  If this sounds familiar, it's because that was Mayor Andrew Hardwick's plan to deal with this assessment problem; and, if you ignore New York State, then yes - that's the only fair way out.

This publication, however, has consistently refused to believe that this is an inevitable fate.  If this were the only answer, we would be best served by both the school and Village governments declaring bankruptcy today.  High taxes have already severely damaged the economic viability of Nassau County as a whole; to continue to raise them, especially on those with no collateral (I.E. Property Values) with which to pay, will certainly cause those who can afford to take losses on their initial investments to leave.  It will create an economic black hole which will make the district's finances entirely unsustainable.  Taxes go up, more people leave, so more taxes are heaped on those who are left.  Folks, this is avoidable.  I've already pointed out what we need to do, and that's get our money back from New York State.  And, no, we cannot rely on just our politicians to do this for us.  And we cannot hold one year's budget accountable for these nightmarish circumstances - we have to act.

So, if you're looking for a, "how do we vote on this budget," then you don't know The Weekly Freeporter.  We don't tell people how to vote, and we don't endorse candidates.  My argument here isn't that you should, or should not vote for it.  You decide that based on the virtues of the situation!  I'm simply here to tell you what the vote is about, and what I've been told by School officials.  And, of course, to encourage you to get out and engage in the voting process - whether or not you vote yes, or no!


Trustee Elections

Running once again is Michael Pomerico, returning incumbent; he's joined by Anthony Miller, who nabbed a spot finishing out a previous trustee's term and hopes to take over his own.  Pamela Bierra-Anderson and Joseph Bonilla are running as a team, and are (surprisingly enough!) backed by the Freeport Teachers Association.  Diane Jackson is also running, seemingly supported by our former Mayor Hardwick.  Finally, I've seen signs for Jorge Heras, who ran in the previous election and is giving it another crack!  I'm also told there's a Mr.  Grossman running, but I haven't heard much of him.  It's a wide field!  More could even be in the woodwork!

Once again, no; there's no endorsements here.  My only suggestion is that you vote - and, perhaps, that you vote for someone who you believe, for whatever reason, will take the fight to Albany to get our money back.

That is the real key to this argument, here:  Not one year's budget, or even three years.  Look five years down the road.  Tell me where we are if we simply break even - never mind experiencing another storm half as vicious as Sandy (which, considering we dealt with Irene the year before, seems to be at least a 50/50 chance).  If we don't get tax equity from NYS, then all the budget elections in the world won't change the fact that our state is taking away our ability to run our schools.

And, as I've mentioned before, if all the state plans to do is use us as a piggy bank for upstate NY, as much as I love upstate NY, why do we stick around?

TWF 202: Mayor Elections Over! UHR Victory!

Greetings Freeport,

I'm in little shape to write at the moment, as I've had quite a long, long day.  And yesterday.  So, here's my best, "post-then-pass-out" shot:

A semi-live tally was provided by the Unity/Home-Rule Party, indicating the results of the election.  The banner in question has shifted to "Freeport is Free!," implying a victory!  They've provided a finalized tally which reads as follows:

Freeport Mayor
Andrew Hardwick:  3882 Votes
Robert Kennedy:  4397 Votes (Winner)

Freeport Trustee (Top-Two)
James Caracciolo:  3,579
Annette Dennis:  3,601
Ronald Ellerbe:  4,469 (Winner)
Carmen Pinyero:  4,526 (Winner)

Freeport Judge
Roy Cacciatore:  4,151 (Winner)
Stephen Drummond:  3,931


Results Matter

Assuming these numbers are unchallenged (they seem fairly decisive in that Mr.  Kennedy has a 500-vote margin according to them), and are legitimate, well, Freeport has chosen.  All listed winners are from the Unity/Home-Rule Party.  It's late.  I'm sleepy.  I could sit back and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each campaign and what led it to where it is, today, but I'm sleepy.

I know I'm not your first source of news on this (I'm reacting to news, myself!), but I figured I should put forth the numbers I've seen and make sure they check out.  If they do?  Well, I want to congratulate the winners, and I want to thank those who lost for their efforts.  Being part of this process is hard - and most of all, I want to thank you, the voter.  I will admit, if you add the mayoral votes together you get 8,279.  That's a pretty huge turnout for Freeport; in a town of 45,000 people, well, we had nearly 20% of the community vote!  That's better than in most recent elections, but it's still pretty low if you ask me, and it's one of the things that our next mayor will have to work on in the next four years - bringing power to this process known as "Democracy," lest it be stripped away from us.

Oh.  And I'll come up with some other inanely-rambled "things Mayor (Whoever but probably Kennedy) must do in the next four years" to fill up an article soon.

Farewell, Freeport, and goodnight!

Fixing the Property Tax Problem Post-Sandy

Greetings, Freeport!

I hope we're all enjoying the snowy weather?  I know, it's scary - an actual winter!  But I'm here to talk about something different.  A few days ago I asked, via Facebook, if people would like me to write an article talking about property tax; particularly in Sandy's aftermath.  I've done this sort of thing before, and I am going to refer back to it, so keep this link handy.  However, I'll gladly excerpt the most impact-laden statement I made:

"In 2008, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg testified that New York State takes $11 BILLION more in taxes from NYC than the city gets back. So NYC is basically losing eleven billion dollars to the state, as if it were a gift. That money is spent in upstate NY on some very useful - and some very not-useful - projects."

Why am I referring to NYC?  Because the same phenomenon that Mr.  Bloomberg refers to - tax disparity - threatens once again to crush Freeport.

Yes, this is a recycled image.  By me, property of Liberty Free Media.

Property Taxes:  Local And State

Let's get this out of the way:  One, I'm not a tax lawyer, and I can be wrong on -any- part of this; I'm just trying to give an overview of how I've always understood taxes to work.  Two, we pay school and Village taxes based generally on the assessed value of our property.  What's an assessment?  Generally speaking, someone from the government comes, takes a look at your property (including factors like surrounding properties' condition, school effectiveness, whatever a potential home-buyer would look at) and assigns your property a value.

So, for the sake of argument, let's say that they decide your property is worth $200,000.  Also, if you live in an apartment, you may not pay these taxes - your landlord does, and he passes the cost on to you, naturally!

Now, based on your assessed value, you are taxed at whatever rate you're taxed at.  5%, 7%, whatever taxes happen to be.  When you hear about tax increases, you are not typically seeing your taxes raise by whatever percentage of your assessed valuation it is.  A 10% tax increase to 10% does not mean you now pay 20%; it means taxes go up by 10% of 10, or a total of 1% assessed valuation; to a new high of 11%.  We typically hear about this second number, the percentage increase from the previous year, and it can sound deceptively high.  So 10% of $200,000 is $20,000/year in taxes; if that sounds ridiculously high, that's because it is.  I just used 10% for ease-of-math.

I also invite actual tax experts to post in the comments section, or on our facebook page (either-or) about how this stuff actually works.  Correct me if I'm wrong, if you're a professional in this area.

Now, this was just a quick over-view.  I wanna get into the post-Sandy details, because that's where our problem lies.  Remember what Mr.  Bloomberg said.


Post-Sandy Tax Rise in Freeport

Okay.  We just had a massive hurricane come and rip our town apart.  Consequently, our Village has spent an extraordinary amount of money on recovery, and it's going to need more.  Typically, when governments need money, they...What, folks?  Raise taxes?  Yes!  It pays for things like, I dunno, "Rebuilding the fucking town!"  If you're curious, I remember Mr.  Bloomberg saying something very similar, only with less emphasis.

HOWEVER!!!

Where is this money supposed to come from?  In case you've been asleep, or you're a tax official, a good chunk of Freeport just slipped under the ocean.  This is both literal and metaphoric; everything south of Atlantic Avenue was pretty much under-water during Sandy, right?  Sandy is not unique.  True, it's the worst we've had in more than fifty years, but let's be realistic - Hurricane Irene, last year, could have been Sandy.  We could have had two Sandys in two years.

Let's pause a moment to reflect on "assessed valuation."

Your assessment is based on what your property can sell for on the open market, correct?  Here's a simple fucking question from someone whose flooded basement is on the internet:  Who, in their right mind, is going to buy a home south of Atlantic Avenue in Freeport when next year could easily bring another massive flood, wiping out everything you own!?  In fact, let's do a quick tally; Within easy viewing distance of my home, three houses were condemned after Sandy.  Property values?  You must be joking.  Overnight, Sandy destroyed whatever property values my home and others might have had.  There is no way that the previous dollar values are accurate, and naturally there are people fighting to have their assessed valuations reduced.  Why?

Because the property isn't worth anything, really, if it can be washed away overnight.


Where Can The Money Come From?


Now, let's move on to the next point.  Andrew Hardwick, our nigh-infamous mayor, spoke to the New York Times.  Here's what he said:

"My thing is to encourage property owners to not seek reassessments because you’re going to pay on one end or the other.  If too many people seek reassessment and are successful with it, that means, how do you pay the bills on the other end? You raise the taxes again? It doesn’t make sense."

Let's get this out of the way:  Technically speaking, without paying attention to anything but the numbers, he's correct.  Factually speaking, he is correct.  Yes, if people get re-assessed and the Village needs money, it will simply raise taxes on everyone to make up the difference.  So that's it, we're fucked, we're debt slaves in Freeport, living in houses that aren't worth a tenth of what the government thinks they are; but we can't re-assess because otherwise we'll just get taxed more, and nobody'll even buy our house if we want to move out!  And that's it, right?

Why have I been talking about Michael Bloomberg so much?

Long Island and NYC have just been decimated, right?  Well, historically, we have given New York State's government far more in tax revenue than we have received.  Mr.  Bloomberg himself said that in one year, the difference for NYC alone was $11 billion.  What if, instead, NYC got to keep that?  Can you imagine if, instead of bleeding $11 billion a year, NYC just broke even?  Can you imagine $11 billion in tax revenue retained by New York City?  Can you, then, extrapolate how much we would save if we were entitled to a similar scheme?

Never mind the state actually giving us a net surplus - just imagine if we kept our money!  Money that, in the article wayyy above, I'd heard has gone as far as fourteen cents to the dollar?  Meaning, by the way, that for every $1 in state taxes we paid, we got back $.14?  Meaning we'd have over five times the money we usually do from NYS?

Are you picturing it?  Yes?  Good, because I'm about to blow your mind:


The Federal Government.

That's the answer, Mr.  Hardwick.  Our state can help us recover, but how do we prevent this from happening again?  Easy!  We get the Feds involved.  The scary part is that they've already been involved, a little.  The scarier part is dumbasses like Republican Stephen Palazzo, a Mississippi congressman who begged for Hurricane Katrina relief, refused to vote for us to get aid because of the federal debt being too high.  Mr.  Palazzo has since been roundly slapped up by the media, has toured our region, and has come to his damned senses, agreeing to vote for us to get some help.

I could get into an argument about the federal debt, but that's not why I'm here.  Suffice to say that its a problem, but not one solved by leaving us screwed.

Instead, the Feds need to pitch in and do some basic disaster mitigation.  In fact, the next time a Freeport mayor feels like globe-trotting, said mayor should visit The Netherlands and study their Delta Works project.  Isn't it amazing how modern technology can allow a nation, virtually below sea level, to protect itself from floods?  Why don't we have that?!  Because it would cost money?!  This is what taxes are for.  Not wars in Libya/Mali/Wherever, not crusades for or against gay marriage, not even health care plans!  Who cares about health care if your town is under water?!

I digress.  The point of this article isn't to talk about ways to protect our Village, Long Island, NYC, and our entire region in general from another major flood.  The sad truth is that, if global sea levels continue to rise, our town might be doomed fifty years from now no matter what we do.  That's too large an argument for me to try to make, here.

The point is that we shouldn't be fighting over raising taxes, versus getting re-assessments on property, versus having to lose services.  For far too long, our area has given New York State a glut of money to invest in boondocks and border-regions alike.  And that's what taxes are for, folks - investments in public works!  But, now, we're the ones in need.  We're the ones who need lower taxes and more services - and we need it badly.  And as much as I love my "We Survived Sandy" magnet, that's chump change compared to the long-term help we need.

We need to organize, to petition our state and federal government, and demand an immediate resolution of our problems.  I feel so strongly about this that I would rather see Long Island and/or NYC as its own state then continue to feed the rest of New York State if we don't get aid, now, and I love New York.  I really do!  But it's time for them to fulfill their end of this taxation bargain, and if they don't then they need to know they will have to deal with We, The People.